Clarke Carlisle looks at his hands and sighs. He has inadvertently raised the subject that he generally tries to avoid. The brightness in his eyes changes, and the huge grin and endless witty cracks momentarily subside, as the subject of alcoholism creeps back onto the table.

Carlisle says he wishes he could lose the tag, but accepts that the story of the football genius who drank is an enduring tale that will not easily take its leave. Even after Burnley were promoted to the Premier League last summer, with Carlisle voted man of the match in the play-off final win over Sheffield United, he was still better known for his drink problems than his defending.

"It was a label that hung around my neck for a long time," says the 30-year-old. "It's one of the sad facts of a professional sportsman's life – if you make a mistake and it comes to national attention you're fucked basically. It's harsh but you're going to be under the microscope for a long time." He laughs, a tension spoiler.

"You know I had the BBC ringing me up to do an interview about Tiger Woods!" He makes a face. "I was like: 'No thank you.' Then I had another one, do I want to do an interview about John Terry?" he shrugs. "I'm never going to lose it, am I? I'm always going to be associated with the wrong'uns."

After being admitted to the Sporting Chance clinic in 2003 it has many taken years and an impressive career turnaround to push that story into the shadows. This afternoon Burnley take on Blackburn in a tense derby and, after Carlisle's winning appearing on Countdown last month, the fans are more likely to sing the ubiquitous theme tune – "di-doo, di-doo, diddly doo" – than chant a reference to those old days.

Carlisle's career started brightly as a young centre-half at Blackpool. Dubbed "the next Sol Campbell" in the England under-21s, he won Britain's Brainiest Footballer before being struck down by injury, a cruciate problem sidelining him for an entire season at QPR. It was then that the drinking took root. "When I did my knee in I was actually encouraged to go out [by the club] because it was such a long time I was going to be laid up. They were like: 'Come on, go out with the lads, enjoy yourself.' I guess football's changed a lot since then."

Football's own theology proved the perfect foil for a drinker. So long as Carlisle could perform on a Saturday no one seemed to mind what he did the rest of the week. "I was getting away with it – and the longer I was getting away with it the lesser problem it became in my eyes." Nights spent drinking were followed by cold showers the next morning before training, with a mouthful of mints to keep the questioners at bay.

"Of course I knew that if the manager knew I might get a telling off. I knew that coming into training half cut wasn't right. But you make sure you're bubbling on a Saturday. And at League One level I could do that." Did he not worry that he was ruining his life? Carlisle smiles: "You know, it was a rollercoaster, but it would be remiss of me to say it was all shite. I had some fantastic times with and without the alcohol … I remember taking a chessboard and a crate of beer to Ravenscourt Park and just falling asleep there. I had some outstanding times."

But for all the sunny summer days spent drinking in the park, there were as many dark moments, and Carlisle speaks earnestly when he says he is grateful to be alive. "I got myself into situations where it really could have been a negative outcome. I know there were times I drove my car when I was drunk. I got into lots of fights – precarious positions that I put myself in. There were situations I got myself into where I could have lost my life. I was out of control."

One afternoon, drunk and travelling up to Colchester on the team coach, the ruse was finally up. His then manager Ian Holloway clocked his drunken defender, banned him from playing and instructed him to seek help.

As he attempts to recall those events Carlisle struggles with the chronology. "You know there are two summers that are just blank for me. I feel awful sometimes because I bump into people and they say: 'Do you not remember me? We spent three whole weeks together!' but I just have zero recollection."

The Sporting Chance clinic came at the right time for him. "By then I was ready. I'd had enough of what I was doing. I was open to learn. I said, 'this is me, I think I'm a bit fucked. Strip me down and show me what to do'. It was life-changing, because I wanted it to be. I felt fake, I never felt like I was me with anyone. Also I loved my career and I loved my family and I knew I was going to lose it all if I didn't change my ways."

Leaving the clinic brought new challenges, and the fear that – perhaps – no football manager, team-mate, or family member would ever trust him again. "To be honest I'm not sure if people ever will," he says gravely. "When I came out of the clinic I was fully prepared for the fact that I may never be able to play football again for those reasons."

The assessment is stark, and honest. But Carlisle seems to have overcome those hurdles and, arriving at Burnley's reception, it is clear that he is one of the staff's favourites. Around the town itself it's all: "Hiya Clarke, are you up for Sunday?" He nods. "Well it's actually more like: 'You up for Sunday!' – not a question, it's a demand: 'You better be up for Sunday!' There's a lot of pride at stake, for everyone in the workplace."

The pressure is on, then, especially for Carlisle who – since appearing on Countdown at the end of last month – has struggled with his form. Some say the TV show has been a distraction – after Carlisle won two games in a row on Countdown, Burnley lost two games in a row, with Carlisle personally responsible for giving away two penalties against Portsmouth.

That evening on Match of the Day, Alan Hansen ripped into him. "Yeah, they hung me out to dry didn't they?" he says with a wry smile. "I can't complain. If you're willing to put yourself out there in arenas that aren't football then you've got to be prepared for responses both positive and negative. Their job is to highlight the reason a team lost, and that weekend I was the reason we lost."

Hansen blamed it on the Countdown appearance, condemning Carlisle, who is Burnley's captain, for indulging in off-the-field activity in the middle of a relegation battle. Carlisle shakes his head. "I don't agree with that. I mean are they going to say that lads shouldn't play golf? Because that would have been more physically taxing than going on Countdown."

It fulfilled a lifelong ambition – he auditioned for the show as a youngster – and his face still lights up at the memory of being on the programme. "It's a place I've dreamed about. I adored it!" he says, leaning on his elbows in the classic Countdown pose. "I was made for that programme. But I also hated it in the same breath, because I just don't feel I should have been beaten. Honestly you don't blow a 21-point lead on Countdown, that's unheard of. I'm so annoyed with myself." "Carrion" was the word that undid him, as he tried to pluralise it. "You can't pluralise a mass noun," he says now, shaking his head. "Countdown tactics tell you to go for the safe bet, I had a six and I just should have gone with that. I don't know if I'll ever get over it."

If Burnley win today there will be huge celebrations around the town, but Carlisle is unlikely to join in with the drinking. He feels he has plenty to celebrate, a loving wife, two kids and a third on the way, and a career in the Premier League. Drinking for pleasure is superfluous to all that now.

"When we go on holiday I'll have a glass of wine with my wife, but even then neither of us are really happy that it's happening. You're aware there are lots of connotations. It's good to know I can have a glass of wine and it wouldn't result in me being on a park bench. But it's also good to know that I'm happier living without it."

On the long journey that he has undertaken, there is much to reflect on. How does he look back over the last 10 years? "With fondness, excitement, despair and wonder," he says, humbly. "And pride because I've come out the other side and I'm really proud of this person I am today. I'm really grateful that I'm still alive, let alone have a job beyond that, playing in the Premier League and I've got a beautiful wife and kids. There are plenty of times where I should never have reached this point. It's unbelievable really."

If Burnley manage to dodge relegation come the end of the season there will be more miracles to celebrate. For now though, and perhaps for the first time in many years, Carlisle seems genuinely happy with his lot.